Ageing outside the information society is also a right

Prof. Paul De Hert, LSTS - VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT

BRUSSEL

April 19, 2023 1

April 19, 2023 2

Seniors online

Older people - aged 65 and above – use the internet relatively little in comparison to other age groups

“10% of people aged over 65 compared use the Internet compared to 68 per cent of those aged 16‐24.”

Source: Riga Ministerial Declaration made by EU Ministers on eInclusion concerning “Inclusive eGovernment”, 11 June 2006

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Why?

Factors of e-inclusion: •problems of accessibility, •affordability, •availability; •complexity of ICT systems; •lack of interoperability; •costs; •lack of guidance (ELDY’s Angels);•generational differences (ICT migrants and ICT natives)…

I do not fancy that !

Staying offline is also a matter of personal choice, preference, taste, talents, inclinations…

For instance: -A person may not want to share her pictures while telephoning (source: SENIOR project)

- Internet can produce increase isolation and sense loneliness (source: The World Unplugged research)

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A question

Are we protected in our right to live without the Internet?Is there a right to live outside and/or despite the information society ?

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Two cases

1. Het Belgisch Staatsblad case (2004)

2. The Journal Officiel de la République Française case (2004)

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Het Belgisch Staatsblad case

Arbitragehof, Arrêt 106/2004, 16 June 2004.

A non profit organisation, GERFA, brought a complaint against a law which restricted consultation of the Belgium Official Journal to only three hard copies. For general public consultation citizens had to go on-line.

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Decision of the Court

“If it is not accompanied by sufficient measures capable to guarantee the equal access to official texts, the contested measure (the publication of the Belgisch Staatsblad exclusively on the Internet) has disproportionate effects at the expense of certain categories of persons. It is not therefore compatible with Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution”

Arbitragehof, Arrêt 106/2004, 16 June 2004

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It’s in the Constitution !

“Art. 10 : There is no distinction according to class in the State. […]”

“Art. 11: Enjoyment of the rights and freedoms recognized for Belgians must be ensured without discrimination. To this end, laws and decrees guarantee notably the rights and freedoms of ideological and philosophical minorities.”

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Journal Officiel de la République Française case French Conseil d’Etat, CE 9 November 2005 M., n°

271713.

A complaint was brought against a French Decree* on the modalities and effects of the publication in electronic form of certain administrative acts in the official Journal of the French Republic.

*Decree n.2004-617 of 29 June 2004

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Decision of the Conseil d’Etat

“ the substitution of the electronic version to the paper version of the official Journal [...] is not likely to infringe neither Article 10 of the ECHR by virtue of which every person is guaranteed the right to the freedom of expression and the one to receive or communicate information or ideas without any interference from the authorities, nor to the non-discrimination clause mentioned by Article 14 of the same convention.”

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First Lesson

• The Information Society is not inevitable nor automatic

• Information Society must take into account citizens’ groups in different contexts or countries (eg: Belgium and France)

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Second Lesson

• Nobody should be forced to use Internet

• Respect for those who want to live outside the information society

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Conclusion

1. Exister, c’est differer!

2. Access to goods or services considered important in a democratic society should not be limited or hampered.

THANK YOU !

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